Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott has joined the list of elected officials calling on Apple to change how it is handling the closure of its Towson Town Center store. Here are the details.

Apple further pressured over Towson store closure

On June 20, Apple will permanently close three retail stores, including Apple Towson Town Center, the first Apple Store in the US to unionize.

Soon after the closure was announced, the IAM Union accused Apple of treating Towson employees unfairly by denying them the same relocation opportunities offered to workers at the other two stores.

Apple, however, says its agreement with the union requires only that it offer transfers to locations within 50 miles of the Towson store, with severance available to employees who cannot be relocated. The company adds that it has no plans to open another store within that radius.

Since the dispute began, the IAM Union has received support from several elected officials, including Maryland lawmakers, 40 members of Congress, and Governor Wes Moore.

Now, Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott has also voiced his support for the Towson store workers.

In a post on X, Governor Scott echoed the argument that the impact of Apple’s decision goes beyond the immediate workers affected by it, claiming that when it “walks away from Towson with no replacement store planned, it walks away from the communities that helped build its success, and pushes critical services further out of reach.”

Mayor Scott also called on Apple to “give these workers the same opportunities afforded to employees at non-union stores,” adding that he will “fight for just treatment” on behalf of the Townson store workers.

In reaction to the statement, IAM International President Brian Bryant thanked Mayor Scott for his support and again called on Apple to act before the store closes next Saturday.

Apple, for its part, has not commented further on the dispute since issuing this statement on April 28, nor has it indicated that it plans to change the closure date for Towson or either of the other two stores.

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